Author: admin

The umbrella group of French Jewish communities – the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) condemned 20 theaters in France planning to host the explicitly anti-Semitic show of comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala.  Dieudonne, who denies claims he is a virulent anti-Semite, has been convicted ten times in France for inciting racial hatred against Jews. Public…

Why did Labor Chairman Yitzhak Herzog agree for Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua party to join Labor and, more importantly, to share the country’s top political office with her? Because, said Yitzchak Herzog, it’s good for business – the business of getting votes. In an interview with Army Radio on Thursday, Herzog deflected the various theories that…

Following the stabbing in Crown Heights’ 770 Chabad Lubavitch center on Tuesday, Michael Miller, Executive Directive of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in New York, has called for additional security measures to be implemented to safeguard Jews at the site. In the attack Calvin Peters (49), who police report had a long arrest record…

Former Likud minister Gideon Saar announced Thursday that he will not contend for leadership of the Likud party against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the upcoming Likud primaries. “In the circumstances that emerged and after giving the matter careful thought, I decided not to vie for leadership of Likud at this time,” he wrote on…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met Thursday afternoon with dozens of Likud activists at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, and spoke to them about the latest political developments, including the decision by Hatnua to merge with Labor. “Who will lead the country? The leftist leaders, who are multiplying, or a leadership under me? We know…

President Reuven Rivlin addressed the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel on Thursday, speaking about the rising wave of Arab terrorism and appraising the danger – to Israel’s democracy. “I have heard and read, so much in the last weeks and months about ‘the health of Israel’s democracy’…they say that, Israel’s democracy is…

Jordan put two brothers, accused of planning to blow up Israel’s embassy in Amman, on trial Thursday. The two are part of a terror gang arrested during the summer, at the height of protests in Jordan against Israel during Operation Protective Edge. A total of eight suspects, including a Syrian fugitive, were charged with plotting…

A statue of Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank was dedicated in Buenos Aires Wednesday, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported.   The statue, an exact replica of one located in Amsterdam, where Anne and her family hid during World War II, was inaugurated in the Kingdom of Netherlands Square in the Puerto Madero district – a…

Three activists from the Lehava organization have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a kindergarten at the bilingual Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School two weeks ago, and the Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet) claims that they have confessed to the crime. The investigation was under a gag order until now.…

Yaron Lahav, the brother of Boaz Lahav, who was murdered along with his friend David Lankri by terrorist Ziad Abu Ein, stated that Abu Ein’s death Wednesday is not a “comfort,” but an odd “kind of closure.”  Abu Ein, 55, a convicted terrorist who previously held the post of PA Deputy Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, died Wednesday…

A U.S. Army chaplain has been reprimanded for “using Christian scriptures and solutions” at a suicide prevention training session. The chaplain, Joseph Lawhorn, spoke at a seminar held at the University of North Georgia three weeks ago. He was issued a punitive “Letter of Concern” by Col. David Fivecoat, the commander of the Airborne and…

Temple Mount rights activist Yehuda Glick received a human rights award Wednesday, at the Second Zionist Conference for Human Rights by the Im Tirzu organization.  Glick – who founded and heads the LIBA Initiative for Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount – has worked intensely to promote equal prayer rights at Judaism’s holiest site, which has…

Hatnua chairman Tzipi Livni and Labor chairman Yitzhak Herzog officially announced a joint list Wednesday, forming a leftist bloc ahead of the upcoming elections after weeks of negotiations. Herzog emphasized in an evening press conference that the bloc could bring economic change to Israel.  “The public asks every day, and every month, where it will…

The “Scroll of Fire,” a well-known Holocaust memorial in central Israel, was found to have been vandalized by a group of students who were visiting the site. In addition, two metal plates that contained names of Holocaust victims were missing. The memorial, in the hills outside Beit Shemesh, celebrates the rising of the Jewish people…

Former Likud MK Moshe Kahlon will indeed be running for the Knesset – and on Wednesday evening, he introduced his new party to Israelis. The party’s name will be “Kulanu,” meaning “all of us.” The name is reminiscent of the campaign phrase used by Ehud Barak in his campaign for the Prime Minister’s position in…

The falling price of oil worldwide has nothing to do with market forces, Iran’s head of state Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday. It’s part of an international plot by Western countries to denude the Islamic world of its greatest asset. “The oil price drop is a plot against the regional people and Muslims which merely benefits…

“Kosher slaughter is permitted by the laws of Poland,” the Polish High Court determined Wednesday.  The landmark decision was a 9-5 majority ruling supporting a petition by the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, and the Jewish community against the decision of the Minister of Agriculture of Poland banning kosher slaughter two years ago. …

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon expressed “regret” for the death Wednesday of a senior Palestinian Authority official after a confrontation with the IDF, saying the matter was under investigation, according to AFP. “The incident in which Ziad Abu Ein died is being investigated by the Israel Defense Forces,” he said in a statement. “We regret his death.” Abu Ein, 55, a convicted…

Looking for a job? If you’re a programmer or computer science grad, there are plenty of jobs for you in Israel, said Meir Brand, head of Google’s Israel office. “I can tell you that there is a worldwide shortage of qualified people in these areas, and Israel is feeling this as well,” Brand told an…

Pakistan’s The Nation newspaper, which describes itself as being the market leader in the Punjab and Islamabad areas, has published an op-ed that predicts Israel will become the world’s next superpower. Aisha Noor, a “researcher and designer,” begins her piece by asserting straightforwardly that Israel “has decided to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque and build the Jewish…

The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization that has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria continues in its execution of Muslim “heretics” who left the religion and others who don’t follow Islam, and is executing those suspected of sodomy – homosexuality – as well. A website identified with ISIS published photographs documenting the stoning of…

Miriam Peretz, an Israeli heroine whose lost two of her sons on IDF battlefields, turned down a personal offer by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be placed in a high spot on Likud’s Knesset list for the next elections. Peretz’s son Eliraz was killed in 2010 near the Gaza border. Another son, Uriel, was killed…

The Turkel Committee for Examination of Senior Appointments approved Wednesday the appointment of Major General Gadi Eizenkot as the IDF’s 21st Chief of General Staff. The appointment will be brought for approval to the government on Sunday. The members of the Turkel Committee, which is headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Ya’akov Turkel, met Eizenkot this week…

Border Guard officers on Wednesday morning put their considerable rescue skills to an unusual purpose: Helping a woman stuck in traffic to get to the hospital, just in time to give birth. The incident occurred along the busy Ayalon Highway, south of Tel Aviv, on Wednesday morning. The officers noticed a car standing at the…

Chairman of the Jordan Valley Regional Council David Elhayani told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that despite the media efforts to portray numerous parties such as Labor, Yesh Atid and Hatnua as “centrist” politically, there is no such thing, and the efforts are an attempt to mislead the public. “This is an election campaign in which we need to…

Outgoing Welfare Minister Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid) told hareidi MK Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) point blank Wednesday morning that he is lying, when he claims that Cohen approached hareidi parties in an effort to unseat Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister. The alleged attempt by Yesh Atid and Hatnua to forge an alternative coalition with…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) spoke on Tuesday with students at the Mekor Chaim Yeshiva in Gush Etzion, the school attended by two of the three teens murdered by Hamas terrorists in June, and while there he was asked an uncomfortable question. In recordings of the meeting broadcast on Wednesday morning by Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), a student…

French police apprehended five men who are suspected of making threats and conspiring online to attack a synagogue.  The suspects, all believed to be far-right activists, were arrested Tuesday morning. Two were detained in the southern French city of Montpellier. The remaining three were arrested in nearby Beziers.  The five men are accused of discussing…

The Likud Central Committee on Wednesday is poised to vote on party head and prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s proposal to advance primaries for party leadership to December 31, as opposed to their current date of January 6. Members of the Central Committee can vote at ten different ballot stations throughout the country starting from 10 a.m.…

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday honored Holocaust victims at Nazi Germany’s notorious wartime Auschwitz death camp, now a museum in southern Poland. Cameron walked through the camp’s infamous wrought-iron “Arbeit macht frei” (work makes you free) entrance gate before viewing an exhibition on the victims. The British leader stopped in Poland after visiting…

Palestinian Authority (PA) “Foreign Minister” Riyad al-Maliki has vowed revenge against Israel Wednesday, after the death of former “minister” Ziad Abu Ein was incorrectly blamed on the IDF by Arabic-language media outlets. “Israel will pay for his death,” Maliki stated. Arab media claims Abu Ein died after being “beaten” by IDF soldiers, but footage from the…

Ziad Abu Ein (55), a senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official, died in Ramallah on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack during a 300-strong “protest march” in Samaria according to IDF appraisals; reportedly he had high blood-pressure and diabetes. Arab sources claim that Abu Ein died after being shoved by Israeli soldiers during a march to plant…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday visited the new IDF educational training base, under construction in southern Israel. Known as “Education City,” the new base will be the center for all IDF training courses, both combat and non-combat. Joining Netanyahu was Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Galilee and Negev Development Minister Silvan Shalom, Prime Minister’s Office…

Public officials have reacted to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to suspend security coordination with Israel Wednesday, after senior PA official Ziad Abu Ein died during clashes with the IDF after refusing medical treatment from soldiers.  Criticism has been directed squarely at PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for the move, which was taken on his orders.  “Abbas is the…

The High Court rejected Wednesday an appeal by MK Hanin Zoabi against her six-month ban from the Knesset plenum. Four of the five judges in the case agreed that “there is no room for involvement in the decision of the (Knesset) Ethics Committee, according to which the petitioner violated Rule 1A of the ethical guidelines…

A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official died Wednesday, after he apparently suffered a heart attack during a “protest march” in Samaria. Arab sources claim he was struck by soldiers.  Channel 2 news‘s website cited PA sources who said that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has decided to suspend security coordination with Israel as a result.  According to…

Shocking details about the alleged torture methods of interrogation used by the CIA against terrorist suspects have emerged in the wake of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report released Tuesday, which summarizes a CIA program launched after the 9/11 attacks. The report, which in its original runs over 6,000 pages following over five years of investigation,…

Jewish Home on Tuesday announced that it was going on a major last-minute recruitment campaign. The campaign is being conducted digitally, marking the first time a political party in Israel has turned to the internet to recruit members. Recruitment options will be available for users of computers, smartphones, tablets, and other devices. Recruitment will be…

The Palestinian Authority is seeking a UN resolution by year-end that would set a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal Judea and Samaria, the PA’s chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said Tuesday. ] Erakat’s remarks came after several European parliaments pressed their governments to recognize full “Palestinian statehood,” and as prospects for a resumption of peace talks with…

A new poll released Tuesday shows the Labor party, if it runs a joint list with Hatnua, catching up to the Likud in popularity among Israeli voters. The Channel Ten-Camille Fuchs poll shows Labor winning 22 seats, making it the largest party in the next Knesset. The Likud would only get 18 – a significant…

Inspectors detained and destroyed some 20 tons of meat and other food items that had not been inspected or approved by Israeli authorities. The food items were found in a warehouse in the farming community of Yish’i, near Beit Shemesh. About six months ago, inspectors said, unapproved food items with questionable kashrut certifications started showing…

Yet another legal hurdle was placed in front of campaigners pushing to expel four senior Hamas leaders from Jerusalem Tuesday, after the High Court postponed a hearing on the issue that was set for today. No alternative date has yet been offered by the court, which means that the four – Khaled Abu Arafa, Muhammad…

A study conducted by Environment Ministry scientists Monday shows that there is a high level of cancer-causing elements in the area of the Arava oil spill. While the air was considered fit for breathing – a decision that will allow environmental workers to continue cleanup operations in the area – it was recommended that the…

A United Nations official on Tuesday called for the prosecution of those responsible for the “criminal conspiracy” revealed in the report on CIA torture, NBC News reported. This includes senior U.S. government officials who authorized the harsh interrogation tactics, the UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson, said. In its report, the…

French police on Tuesday detained three men and two women as part of a probe into Mehdi Nemmouche, the suspect in the murder of four people at Brussels’ Jewish Museum in May, a judicial source said. Those arrested on Tuesday include people Nemmouche may have met while in detention, said a source close to the case. Further details about them were not…

The Irish government is expected to accept a motion to be proposed by the opposition calling on parliament to recognize “Palestine” as a state, Reuters reports. The decision follows the passing of a motion in Ireland’s upper house in October calling on the government to formally recognize a Palestinian state. Members of parliament in the…

Former Finance Minister Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, continues to insist that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a deal with the hareidi parties that led to the upcoming election. On Tuesday, Lapid outlined on his Facebook page an alleged deal between Netanyahu and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri. According to Lapid, Netanyahu pledged…

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) chief negotiator, is hoping that in the upcoming elections Israelis will choose a leader who will accept the “two-state solution”. Erekat, who spoke on Tuesday with reporters near Bethlehem, said, according to Kol Yisrael radio, that the Palestinian Arabs wish for the citizens of Israel to elect a partner…

UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) in a recent donation conference this week demanded an additional $414 million in aid for “Palestinian refugees living in occupied Palestinian territories.” At the conference in Geneva, UNRWA deputy commissioner-general Margot Ellis, who formerly worked with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), spoke about the “disappointment that 2014…

Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, sent a letter to the Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz Tuesday, urging Katz to make sure that no desecration of the Shabbat by bus drivers is being allowed, and asking to stop the practice of buses allowing buses to operate until just before the Shabbat starts.  “The Transportation Ministry…

A 22 year old Israeli Jewish man was stabbed Tuesday morning (roughly 2:00 am EST) in Crown Heights, outside the Chabad-Lubavitch building at 770 Eastern Parkway in New York City. The man’s condition is defined as stable, but serious; he was reportedly stabbed in the neck. The public has been asked to pray for him;…

A panel of High Court judges are to decide Tuesday morning a motion filed by MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) against the Knesset Ethics Committee’s decision to bar her from Knesset plenum and committee sessions for six months. The fact that the Knesset has been dissolved does not seem to have affected the proceedings. The judges…

A bill recently proposed by the justice ministry indicates that it is seeking to take away parents’ custodianship of children in Israel. Tzipi Livni’s removal from office has temporarily halted the move, which reflects a neo-Marxist approach to the family, in which the state takes over from parents as the ultimate guardian and custodian. The…

An expanded panel of nine justices will deliver a verdict Tuesday, on an appeal by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), a major grantee of the New Israel Fund, and four senior Hamas members from Jerusalem against the terrorists’ deportation from Israel. If the terrorists’ appeal is accepted, this would practically cancel the government’s…

The IDF raised the alert level in the Hevron area Monday night, Walla! News reports Tuesday, after two sets of Arab parents reported their children missing from their homes since last Friday.  The reason: one of the two, Muhammed Abu Eisha, is the nephew of Amar Abu Eisha  – one of the Hamas terrorists responsible for…

Israel’s Central District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment Tuesday evening against Adam Everet Livix, a 30-year-old US citizen and religious Christian who is accused of plotting to attack Muslim holy sites in the country. According to the indictment the accused, whose visa expired in September 2013, decided to target Israel’s Arab community and specifically sites…

The United States is not considering sanctions against Israel in response to its construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki clarified on Monday. “I can set the record straight and be clear that reports that we might be contemplating sanctions against Israel are completely unfounded and without merit,” She told reporters,…

Jordan on Monday charged a top member of the Muslim Brotherhood with “souring ties with a foreign country” by criticizing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after it designated his group as a terrorist organization, Reuters reports. Zaki Bani Arshid, deputy leader of the Jordanian branch of the Brotherhood, was arrested last month after saying on…

Police lifted a gag order and announced on Tuesday they have solved the murder of Bisana Abu Ganam (31), the Arab mother of six who was shot to death in Ramle in September. The murder was an “honor killing,” the Islamic phenomenon of murdering a woman to defend “familial honor”.– Abu Ganam is reportedly one of…

Vice President of the Yesha Council, Yigal Dilmoni, is becoming the latest new candidate to run for a Knesset seat with the Jewish Home party, sources told Arutz Sheva exclusively on Tuesday.  Dilmoni has been active in recent years in public relations and public awareness regarding Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Associates said that Dilmoni – who…

Heavy rain began falling in the Arava region in southern Israel Tuesday, where 5 million liters of crude petroleum spilled from the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline. The Ministry for Environmental Protection fears that the rain water may take the oil into the Gulf of Eilat. Ministry employees have placed dozens of means of absorption along the channel…

The State is “deeply concerned” over the Defense budget, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) said Tuesday.  In a joint session with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon for a periodic review of the Defense establishment, as well as on the Defense budget, Elkin noted that a review of Operation Protective…

As campaigning kicks off following the official Knesset vote Monday to disband ahead of elections set for March 17, Coalition Coordinator in the Finance Committee MK Gila Gamliel (Likud) on Tuesday attacked outgoing Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) on charges of playing politics with state finances. After Lapid was fired last Tuesday his months-long…

Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi, a Bar Ilan University lecturer and brother in-law of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, hasn’t always agreed with his relative on government policy – but in an interview Tuesday, he agreed that, whatever difference of opinion he has with the Prime Minister, Netanyahu is the most worthy candidate for the office. Speaking to…

President Reuven Rivlin took part in the first Day of Recognition for Injured IDF Veterans and Victims of Enemy Attacks on Tuesday, taking time out to honor those who were wounded by terrorists and in their service defending the nation. “The challenges which lie before us today are many and diverse,” said Rivlin at the…

Former minister Gideon Saar does not rule out the possibility of running against Binyamin Netanyahu for leadership of Likud in the upcoming primaries, according to political sources who spoke to him in recent days. According to the sources, Saar told his supporters to prepare “for every scenario” and set up a political headquarters. Likud activists…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) demanded clarity from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Monday following reports that Netanyahu plans to offer the Defense Minister position to current Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) if he wins the next elections.  Ya’alon is considered one of Netanyahu’s most loyal ministers, especially since the two cooperated together closely…

In a detailed example of the rampant human rights abuses committed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), atheist blogger Waleed Al Husseini detailed the ordeals he suffered for expressing his opinions online on Monday. In an article entitled “What It’s Like to Be an Atheist in Palestine” published on The Daily Beast, Al Husseini described how he spent…

The Israeli Defense Forces revealed on its official blog Monday that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza were well prepared for ground fighting during Operation Protective Edge. With the help of weapon smuggling as well as transport tunnels, Hamas was able to arm itself in preparation for the arrival of IDF soldiers.  The weapons…

A special research delegation of the Danish Immigration Service (UDL) went to Ethiopia and Eritrea to clarify the political realities in the region in terms of “refugee status” for immigrants illegally leaving Eritrea, and last month published its precedent setting results. The report, released November 14 and entitled “Eritrea – Drivers and Root Causes of…

Two Hezbollah terrorists were killed in Sunday evening’s airstrikes on Syrian government targets close to the capital Damascus, including one senior member of the Shia Islamist group, according to Al Arabiya. The airstrikes, believed to have been carried out by Israel, took place at two separate locations including Damascus International Airport, and were widely reported…

Dozens of tombs were desecrated or destroyed over the weekend at a Jewish cemetery in Argentina.  Gravestones were broken, monuments uprooted, and photos scattered at the cemetery located in the Argentinian city of Santiago del Estero, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northeast of capital city Buenos Aires.  Members of the South American country’s Jewish community…

The Knesset on Monday evening officially voted unanimously 93:0 to dissolve itself, disbanding the 19th Knesset and preparing the way for elections on the 20th Knesset to be held on March 17. The vote was approved by the Knesset’s House Committee earlier in the day, and comes after the bill to disband was unanimously approved in a…

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett was a guest on Monday in the studios of MSNBC, where he was asked about United Nations (UN) institutions in Gaza being damaged during last summer’s counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. The IDF proved that terrorists in several cases fired rockets from the UN schools, prompting an Israeli response. Bennett was asked…

Former Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that Israel’s relations with the United States were “damaged” under Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Speaking at the 2014 Globes Israel Business Conference, Barak said, “I told my friends in the Cabinet that we need to respect American sovereignty. They have their own opinions, and we must listen…

A delegation from the terrorist organization Hamas which controls Gaza arrived on Monday for talks with Iranian officials on repairing ties between the two, local media reported. Tasnim news agency said the team was led by Hamas political bureau member Mohammed Nasr and included Osama Hamdan, who is in charge of international relations. Iran has been a key source of funds…

Three days after the horrific assault on a Jewish couple in Paris, anti-Semitism reared its ugly head again in France.  An 8-year-old girl was verbally attacked and harassed by two fellow students at her elementary school in Mions, near Lyons, simply for being Jewish.  The two boys, ages 8 and 9 and identified as Muslims,…

MKs from the hareidi United Torah Judaism party welcomed on Monday evening the dissolution of the Knesset, after MKs voted 93:0 to disband the Knesset, paving the way for elections to be held on March 17. “The 19th Knesset will be remembered as the worst one in the country’s history, due to the failure of…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday became an observer at the summit meeting of the 122 countries that are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Associated Press reported. The move is a step toward joining the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal, PA officials say. The PA’s UN ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said Monday his…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon may be easing up on his own crackdown on Judea and Samaria, it was revealed Monday, after leaks from closed conversations Ya’alon had with unnamed officials indicated his support for lifting a freeze on funds to Judea-Samaria regional councils.  “Our goal should be the immediate release of funds for the development…

Arab media outlets have been reporting that the Syrian military sties struck on Sunday, allegedly by Israeli jets, were being used to store arms destined for Hezbollah. Shortly after the strikes, rumors circulated the sites – including Damascus International Airport and the Dimas airbase – were being used to store sophisticated weapons, including Russian-made S300…

Yesh Atid is outraged at the request of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to transfer additional funds via the Finance Committee to regional councils in Judea-Samaria, the party said in a statement on Monday. “This is an election bribery – this is an inappropriate course of action in a democratic state,” the party stated, asking the…

The ruling Likud party, under Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Jewish Home, under Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, have agreed not to attack each other in the upcoming election campaign. Instead, the parties will focus on Yisrael Beytenu and Moshe Kahlon’s as-yet-unnamed party, for their apparent enthusiasm to trade land for a peace treaty. The…

Israel stressed on Monday that it has a policy of preventing arms transfers to terrorist groups, a day after Syria accused the Jewish state of bombing two targets near the Syrian capital, including Damascus airport. Israel has launched a series of strikes inside Syria since the armed uprising erupted there in 2011, including raids reportedly…

Iran is “stalling the time until they get the bomb,” Dr. Joseph Frager, Chairman of the World Committee for the Land of Israel, told Arutz Sheva at the Jaffa Institute Gala Dinner honoring Rabbi Yaakov Nasirov last week. “It’s going to happen while under President [Barack] Obama’s watch, and it will make his presidency one of the all-time…

Hareidi women who campaign to join hareidi parties in the Knesset will see their children thrust out of the hareidi school system, a Degel HaTorah (United Torah Judaism faction – ed.) activist threatened Sunday night.  “Every woman who campaigns against the gedolei haTorah (Torah sages) of Israel will make sure her children will not attend hareidi education…

The family of a Washington Post correspondent who was quietly arrested in Iran in July has called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameinei to release him Sunday, saying that the arrest “violates its own laws.” Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who holds dual American and Iranian citizenship and has been stationed in Tehran writing for various foreign press outlets…

At a Labor party meeting Monday afternoon, Chairman Yitzhak Herzog stated his intentions to form a large “centrist” leftist bloc and take over control of the country.  Last Friday evening Channel 10 News reported that Hatnua chairwoman Tzipi Livni and Herzog were very close to reaching an agreement under which they will run together in the next elections. Herzog would,…

Israel and Mexico sealed an industrial research and development (RD) agreement over the weekend according to a government statement released Monday, putting the two nations in position to further advance their bilateral ties in a variety of joint projects. The agreement, which was signed by Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Rodica Radian Gordon, will see the Office…

MK Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home party reaffirmed Monday morning that her party and Likud have agreed to refrain from attacking each other “We have decided to talk in a positive manner, so as not to harm the right-wing bloc,” Shaked told Channel 10. “It is important to us that there will be a…

Attorney Betzalel Smutrich of the Regavim movement explained to Arutz Sheva what the recent rejections by the High Court of most of the petitions by radical leftist Peace Now activists to destroy six small communities in Judea and Samaria mean. According to the attorney, the ruling was important in terms of legal precedent, as he noted…

Although Israel refuses to confirm or deny Syrian accusations that Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes near Damascus on Sunday, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz made clear Monday that the Jewish state would not allow “sophisticated weapons” to fall into the hands of its enemies.  The two strikes on Sunday, allegedly targeting anti-tank rockets and surface-to-air missiles destined…

Amnesty International’s data on Operation Protective Edge in Gaza is “faulty and incomplete,” the head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor organization noted Monday – and organizations and journalists should not use Amnesty as a source.  “By Amnesty’s own admission, its methodology in Gaza is faulty and incomplete,” said Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor.…

Deputy Transport Minister Tzipi Hotoveli (Likud) discussed the upcoming elections and explained that voting for Yisrael Beytenu can be a “dangerous” thing. In an interview with Erel Segal on Galei Israel Radio, MK Hotovely attacked both Avigdor Liberman and Moshe Kahlon for “taking a sharp leftward turn” and zigzaging ideologically. She warned: “It’s not [an…

A preacher at the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – Judaism’s holiest site – engaged in blatant incitement against Jews and Israel in an impromptu speech two weeks ago, in remarks translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.  “Let me start by saying that talking about the traits of the Jews requires…

The head of the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei insists that US President Barack Obama is chasing after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to footage provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).  “When you see the American president knocking on every door just to meet our president for a few minutes,…

Syria, which accused Israel of carrying out airstrikes near their nation’s capital Sunday, subsequently complained to the United Nations about the strikes.  In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Israel “has committed a heinous crime against the sovereignty of Syria.” Describing the “crime,” the letter continued:…

The Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee hosted on Sunday the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Yoav Mordechai, for a discussion of illegal construction in Judea and Samaria. According to information presented to the committee, about 550 illegal structures were built by Arabs…

Jewish Temple activist Yehuda Glick has gone back to the scene of the attempt on his life with a Channel 2 television crew, and recounted what transpired outside the Begin Center in Jerusalem on Wednesday, October 29. “I see myself downstairs, talking with the friends, with Shai [Malka] and Moriah,” he told the Uvda documentary…

The legal aid NGO Honenu, which assists Jews who are suspected of nationalist crimes, as well as IDF soldiers who face legal action for defending themselves in the line of duty, condemned on Sunday the decision by the Military Prosecution, to launch investigations against soldiers who were involved in five incidents during Operation Protective Edge, in which…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appears to have hinted at the reported strike against targets in Syria, several hours before it occurred, in a comment he made at the start of Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting, as cameras rolled. “We are following with great alacrity the goings on in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said – “with alert…

Israel played a key role in stopping a deal with Iran on reining in Tehran’s nuclear program from going ahead last month, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday. The deal would have “effectively left Iran as a threshold nuclear power,” he told the Saban Forum, organized bythe Brookings Institution, in a recorded speech transmitted via satellite, adding that Israel’s “voice and…

The Central Unit of the Border Police, as well as the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet), has arrested several suspects in last week’s arson on a Jerusalem dual Arabic-Hebrew language kindergarten, it was cleared for publication Sunday.  The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court has, as of Sunday night, extended the detention of suspects for…

MK Yifat Kariv (Yesh Atid) responded to reports from foreign media that the IDF struck Syrian Army targets in Dimas and near Damascus on Sunday – by claiming it was a calculated political move by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu before the elections. “Bibi cannot put together an alternative coalition and decided to choose the path…

Syria on Sunday accused Israel of carrying out air strikes against two government-held areas in Damascus province, one of them near the capital’s international airport, state television said. “The Israeli enemy attacked Syria by targeting two safe areas in Damascus province, namely the Dimas area and the area of Damascus International Airport,” said the channel,…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is often touted by the West as a “peace partner” of Israel’s, recently declared that there are six million “Palestinian refugees”, and that he is one of them. Abbas’s comments were made in an interview with the Egyptian daily Akhbar Al-Yawm, published last week and translated by the…

Israel provided Jordan with information regarding a secret military organization within the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, whose goal was to purchase weapons and then smuggle them into the Palestinian Authority, Jordanian security sources told the Al-Hayat newspaper on Sunday. The security sources revealed that 31 members of the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood have been…

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Sunday said he was “surprised” there were not more demonstrations on the streets against anti-Semitism and racism, in response to a brutal anti-Semitic attack on a young couple in Paris last week. “What happened in Creteil, this abominable crime, this violence, the rape of a young woman, (the attack on) a…

A Cairo court on Sunday referred four Muslim Brotherhood leaders, who are on trial for the killing of nine and injuring more than 90 in 2013, to Egypt’s grand mufti to consider the death penalty. The defendants in the case include 17 Brotherhood leaders, among which are former Parliament Speaker Saad El-Katatni, Brotherhood Supreme Guide…

Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday demanded that the United Nations impose sanctions on Israel in response to what it termed “the Israeli aggression on the Syrian soil”, hours after Syria accused Israel of carrying out airstrikes against two government-held areas in Damascus province. In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN…

A Muslim convert who left Canada last year to join the Islamic State (ISIS) resurfaced in a propaganda video on Sunday to threaten Canadians they will be “indiscriminately targeted” in retaliation for joining the international military coalition fighting the terror group. According to the National Post, in a six-minute video, the man said the October…

A political official on Sunday night rejected the allegations made by Knesset members from the opposition, who claimed that airstrikes in Syria attributed to the Israeli air force were carried out due to political considerations of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ahead of upcoming elections. “There is no political consideration in Israel’s military moves, without reference…

Nahum Barne’a, one of Israel’s most respected veteran journalists, admitted Sunday that he erred when he falsely quoted MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) as telling justice ministry officials she intends to become justice minister so that she can “destroy” them. Writing in Yediot Aharonot, Barne’a published a rare apology, admitting that the statement he ascribed…

Just a few days after their dramatic arrest amidst the Judean Desert cliffs, would-be thieves of ancient scrolls and precious archaeological artifacts were indicted this morning in a Be’er Sheva court. Concluding a year-long Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) operation to locate such thieves, with the help of Israel Police, this was the first time in…

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin expressed his concern Sunday morning over the public’s distrust of holding another election, which could result in a low turnout on election day.  In a speech at the Israeli Business Conference, held by newspaper Globes, Rivlin suggested that lack of public voting in the upcoming election could “cause disruption to the democratic system”…

Moshe Kahlon, whose new party is expected to receive 7-10 Knesset seats according to recent polling, truly meant what he said when he spoke of making land concessions for peace, says ex-MK Carmel Shama-Hacohen. Shama-Hacohen denied, in an IDF Radio interview Sunday, that he himself would be running for the Knesset in Kahlon’s list, or…

The Likud Central Committee will meet Monday in Ariel to approve conduct rules for its primary elections. The primaries will determine the party’s leader as well as its Knesset list for March’s upcoming elections.  Danny Danon, the Likud Central Committee Chairman, who has often clashed with current party leader, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, revealed the…

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett expounded his political vision and discussed upcoming elections Saturday night at the Saban Forum in Washington during an interview with Martin Indyk, US President Barack’s Obama’s envoy to Israel-Palestinian Authority peace talks.  In a heated portion of the dialogue, Bennett asked Indyk: “How many people need to die before you wake…

Prominent Israeli novelists and left-wing thinkers Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua, and David Grossman have attached their signatures to a letter calling on European parliaments to recognize the “State of Palestine” alongside Israel.  The left-wing initiative has so far collected signatures of some eight hundred Israelis. The letter was sent Sunday, specifically to members of the…

Daily newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported Sunday morning that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is looking into the possibility of forming a new coalition with hareidi parties without holding an election, and is trying to enlist Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s support for this move. According to the report, Netanyahu came to Nokdim, where Yisrael Beytenu head Liberman…

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Friday night at the Saban Forum in Washington and said that her country should strengthen its ties with Israel. Clinton dismissed reports of tensions between Jerusalem and Washington, saying the cooperation between the two countries is “quite extraordinary” and citing “funding of the Iron Dome, the…

Shas is not obligated to support Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu after the elections, its chairman MK Aryeh Deri made clear on Saturday night. “We have no obligation, but I do not belong to the ‘Anyone but Netanyahu’ coalition,” Deri said in a interview on Channel 10 News. “If Netanyahu goes with what we believe in,…

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai is considering becoming an MK, Labor members close to Huldai’s office told Walla! News Sunday – and has already been making preparations for a national campaign ahead of the 2015 elections in March. “As far as we know, there have been no attempts to stop Huldai from running from within the party,” senior…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party has denied blame for the current round of elections Sunday, after Likud sources and MK Yariv Levin claimed the party refused to cooperate in a coalition with the hareidi parties. “Why do we oppose the construction of an alternative government in this Knesset?” the party stated, “Because it…

Eight teenagers from the northern Israeli town of Fureidis were recently arrested on suspicion of involvement in manufacturing pipe bombs and throwing a pipe bomb at a police car, it was cleared for publication Sunday, during violent Arab rioting on November 9. The eight were arrested as part of a joint operation of the Israel…

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee debated Sunday a groundbreaking proposal to offset the money Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority (PA) by funneling money given to terrorists back into the State. MK Orit Struk (Jewish Home), one of the initiators of the bill, noted that funds given to the PA are a significant…

A Palestinian man who was injured in the November 5 car attack at a Jerusalem light rail station outside the Old City succumbed to his wounds Sunday. Abd al-Karim Nafith Hamid, 60, was injured when terrorist Ibrahim al-Akkari plowed his car into a group of pedestrians, killing a border police officer and a 17-year-old yeshiva student, and wounding…

An Eilat resident filed a class action suit in the Tel Aviv District Court Sunday, on behalf of all the residents of Eilat against the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) for last week’s oil spill in the Arava desert. The class action suit, amounting to 380 million shekel ($95.4 million), was brought by Eilat resident Lisa…

With elections in the air, pollsters are already working frantically to predict how Israel’s 20th Knesset will look come March 18. Will a “right-wing” bloc mobilize to ensure a staunchly nationalist government? Does it even need to? Or will the flagging Israeli Left mobilize a bloc of their own – an eventuality which one recent…

France’s interior minister vowed Sunday to make the fight against anti-Semitism a “national cause” after the country was rocked by a brutal anti-Semitic attack on a young couple in Paris. Speaking at a rally in the Paris suburb of Creteil, where the attack took place on Monday, Bernard Cazeneuve said: “We need to make the…

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, admitted on Saturday night he has an “arrangement” with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Likud party, according to which the sides will not attack one another during the election campaign. Bennett’s revelation came in a discussion at the Saban Forum in Washington, where he…

Former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni says she is “ready to be Prime Minister”. Speaking to Channel 2 News on Saturday night, the head of the Hatnua party confirmed reports that she and Labor leader MK Yitzhak Herzog were holding talks about running together in the next elections, and predicted that a joint list will ultimately…

British-born American journalist Luke Somers and a South African teacher, Pierre Korkie, were killed on Saturday by Al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen during a failed rescue bid. According to the BBC, Saturday’s operation was carried out by joint U.S. and Yemeni special forces in the southern Shabwa region. The two hostages were being held by Al-Qaeda…

Egyptian authorities have enacted new rules that ban their countrymen from travelling to Turkey without a permit, a move intended to stem terrorist recruitment, Egyptian airport officials told The Associated Press (AP) on Saturday. According to the officials, Egyptians aged 18-40 now need to apply for security clearance in central Cairo ahead of departure to…

Chabad’s annual Yud Tet Kislev holiday will be commemorated this week in a number of memorable ways. The main event will be held this coming Wednesday and Thursday at the Jerusalem Convention Center (JCC, Binyanei HaUmah). The original copy of the prayerbook of the famed Maggid of Mezritch will be on display there, together with…

Lander College for Men (LCM)-Beit Midrash L’Talmud (Talmud study hall) in Queens, NY will host an honorary “Chag HaSmicha” dinner for its students next week Sunday, as a tribute to its graduating students.  The smicha program at the Beis Medrash L’Talmud immerses students in Shas (the Talmud) and deepens their understanding of Halakha (Jewish Law),…

Opposition leader MK Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) is joining in on the efforts to secure the release of Jonathan Pollard. Herzog, currently in the United States for the Saban Forum on Saturday met with American officials and asked them to be considerate of Pollard’s medical condition. The meetings came a day after Pollard, who just recently…

Dr. Inna Rogatchi, president of the Rogatchi Foundation, author, film-maker, philanthropist and publicist whose op-eds on Arutz Sheva aattract a wide audience, has become the third person and the first woman awarded the Solidarity Prize by The Patmos Foundation. In the foundation’s words, the prize was awarded for her ‘life-long mission for the sake of the…

Israel’s former ambassador to the United States Dr. Michael Oren addressed the Saban Forum Saturday on the topic of the political process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority – and had some damning words for the Israeli Left. “The Left in Israel has crashed, because it has not yet internalized that the Palestinians are not…

US Vice President Joe Biden Saturday dismissed the “malarkey” about efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, and reassured Israel its security would not be put at risk. “There’s absolutely no daylight, none, between us and the Israelis on the question of Israel’s security,” Biden told the pro-Israel Saban Forum in Washington. “But as friends we have an obligation to…

Col. (res.) Danny Efroni, Chief Military Advocate General (MAG) of the IDF, ordered investigations to be launched by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) against soldiers over claims of unusual incidents during Operation Protective Edge. Among the instances, Efroni ordered an investigation into the killing of four children on a fishing beach adjacent to Gaza Port, saying…

Egypt held its “Badr 2014” military maneuver between October 11 and November 6, its largest exercise since 1996 which was only half the size – according to a senior security expert the Nile state has its sights on Israel, despite the peace treaty. Col. (res.) Dr. Shaul Shay, former deputy head of the Israel National…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly is working to advance Likud primary votes, so as to prevent former Likud Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar from challenging him for leadership of the party. Sa’ar only has a week left before the period in which he can submit candidacy for Likud leadership ends, meaning that Netanyahu’s advancement of the…

After losing consciousness and being hospitalized last Friday, 60-year-old Jonathan Pollard has emerged from the imminent danger posed to his health – and been returned to his jail cell, where he has been incarcerated for the past 30 years. Pollard’s wife Esther was informed of his release from the hospital. Apparently he will need to…

As reports flood in of a hareidi coalition being eyed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and even Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid, who ran on an anti-hareidi ticket, a new poll shows that a full 62% do not want to see the hareidi parties in the next coalition government. The poll, which was conducted by…

Pakistan’s military on Saturday said it eliminated Al-Qaeda’s global operations chief, Adnan el Shukrijumah, who had planned bombing attacks on trains in New York and London. Shukrijumah was taken out in a raid in South Waziristan in the country’s northwest, a region bordering Afghanistan, reports BBC. Two other terrorists were killed in the Saturday raid according…

45 Republican Congressmen fired off a stern letter to President Barack Obama demanding that he “clarify recent reports” which suggest his Administration has held classified meetings over the past several weeks to discuss the possibility of imposing sanctions against Israel for its decision to construct homes in eastern Jerusalem. Congressman Mark Meadows tweeted that the anti-Israel…

Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche, suspected of killing four people at Brussels’ Jewish Museum in May, was remanded in custody for another three months on Friday, judicial officials said, according to AFP. Nemmouche, 29, of Algerian origin and who spent more than a year fighting with Islamic extremists in Syria, has been charged with “murder in a…

Former Likud minister Moshe Kahlon, who is forming his own party and will run for the next Knesset, said on Friday he would not rule out giving up territory for peace. Kahlon, who is mostly known for his social platform, met youth activists in Tel Aviv and said he would not hesitate to concede land…

France said on Friday it had agreed to put $60 million into a fund managed by the United States to compensate Holocaust victims deported by French state rail firm SNCF to Nazi death camps, Reuters reports. About 76,000 Jews were arrested in France during World War Two and transported in appalling conditions in railway boxcars…

As speculated, United States President Barack Obama on Friday named Ashton Carter, a technocrat and academic with deep experience working in the Pentagon, to replace Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. Obama praised the 60-year-old former deputy defense secretary, saying that he would bring to the job “a unique blend of strategic perspective and technical know-how,”…

U.S. President Barack Obama met on Friday with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House, saying he was “concerned” about the tensions between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. “We share concerns about the continuous tensions between Israel and Gaza,” Obama was quoted by UPI as having said following the meeting, adding, “We are going…

Channel 10 News reported on Friday evening that Hatnua chairwoman Tzipi Livni and Labor chairman Yitzhak Herzog are very close to reaching an agreement under which they will run together in the next elections. According to the report, the two have already agreed on several principals. As part of the agreement being formulated, the second…

Reports on Friday indicated a rapidly forming coalition between Opposition and Labor party chairman Yitzhak Herzog and Hatnua chairperson Tzipi Livni, in which the two would likely form a joint list – with Kadima possibly joining along for the ride. According to Walla!, Herzog and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid are competing to bring Livni into…

The National Unit for Prison Investigations arrested a 20-year-old prison guard on Friday, after the jail guard had planned to pass a cell phone to a Fatah terrorist jailed in Israel.  During investigation, the guard admitted that the had planned to transfer the device to the security prisoner, and that he had made similar transfers…

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal has blamed the rise of terror in Jerusalem and in Israel as a whole on a “spontaneous reaction to Israeli stubbornness,” in an interview with Sky News Friday morning.  Mashaal, who gave his first interview since Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and spoke from Hamas headquarters in Qatar, blamed Israel and Prime…

Is the rift between President Reuven Rivlin and singer Amir Benayoun over his recent song against Arab Israelis who commit terrorist attacks, which Rivlin responded to by disinviting him from an official performance, irreparable?  Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau, a high-profile religious-Zionist figure, revealed he is trying to bridge that rift while speaking with his brother Chief…

A new US poll found that a full 34% of Americans support a one-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by which all of Israel’s territory would become a single state with equal rights for all citizens. The poll, held by the Saban Forum, noted a 10% increase in support for the one-state solution from the…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made a surprising statement during his annual state of the union address, in which he talked about his country’s “absolutely legitimate” annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March amid a Russian military invasion. According to Putin, the historic landmarks of Crimea are sacred for Russians, and are as important…

More than 140 Canadian citizens have been involved in terror activities outside Canadian borders, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS), Michel Coloumbe, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner, Bob Paulson, revealed to Parliament earlier this week. Over the past two years, the Canadians have committed dozens of terror attacks and participated…

The Jordanian parliamentarian who led a prayer in parliament in honor of the two terrorists who murdered five people in a Jerusalem synagogue has reaffirmed his hatred for Jews. “I hate the Jews, I hate the Jews, I hate the Jews,” the MP, Khalil Attieh, on a television show featuring Jordanian MPs discussing parliament’s moment…

Outgoing United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that he and President Barack Obama had “no major differences” that led to Hagel’s resignation, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Hagel said he simply came to the conclusion that it was the right time for him to step aside, and he leaves believing that he accomplished…

Tel Aviv district police launched a massive crackdown Thursday night closing 30 African bars in the Old Central Bus Station of the city, which served as crime dens for illegal infiltrators and posed security threats due to extreme sub-par safety standards. Over 150 police officers, Yassam SWAT forces, tax investigators, as well as representatives of…

Jonathan Pollard (60), who just recently began his 30th year of incarceration in the US on charges of spying for Israel, lost consciousness on Friday and was admitted to a hospital outside the prison. Pollard’s wife Esther was informed about his hospitalization; his health has been gradually worsening over his many years behind American bars,…

Yesh Atid MK Rabbi Dov Lipman sharply criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in an interview with Arutz Sheva on Friday, claiming that Netanyahu is unsuitable to be Prime Minister and that he is only interested in gaining power.  “We have unnecessary elections now that the Prime Minister says he wants to hold,” Lipman stated. “What was…

Members of the Lehava anti-assimilation organization, led by director Bentzi Gopshtain, protested on Thursday night outside the Rami Levy supermarket in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul over the employment of Arab workers at the store. Just on Wednesday a 16-year-old Arab terrorist stabbed two Jewish shoppers at a Rami Levy branch in Mishor Adumim to the east of Jerusalem.…

A recently published report claiming that Washington is determined to condemn the Israeli government even more in the next several months for its construction in Judea-Samaria is a media ploy to sway public opinion, an expert on US-Israel relations told Arutz Sheva Friday.  On Thursday, Haaretz reported that the US is considering sanctions against Israel over the construction,…

Coalition chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) and Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked signed Thursday an agreement which would benefit both parties in the 20th Knesset elections. The agreement, a “surplus vote agreement,” stipulates that additional votes from the two parties – votes which do not amount to a Knesset seat for either party if counted…

Housing Minister Uri Ariel, head of the National Union party’s Tekuma faction that ran on a joint list with Jewish Home in the last elections, spoke on Friday morning about the deep divides between his party and Economics Minister Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home. Ariel spoke about the ongoing unification discussions he has been holding with…

The cost of the massive pipeline oil spill in the Arava desert, near Be’er Ora 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Eilat in the southern Negev, will cost Israel a whopping 30 million shekels ($7.6 million) according to Dr. Gilad Golub, director of Israel’s Environmental Services Company. Golub told Walla! that the value of the oil spilled stands between…

MK Elazar Stern (Hatnua) aroused controversy Thursday when he said, in a conference hosted by Besheva magazine, that public leaders should not rely exclusively on G-d. “We have to hope, we need to pray, but to be rational,” he explained. “In the places that I am aware of, when we only trusted G-d, we lost…

The judicial branch in Israel is more powerful than the executive and legislative ones, Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked stated Thursday at an Israel Bar Association conference in Tel Aviv – and she vowed to do something about it in the next Knesset. “My world view and that of many other MKs from various factions…

Rome has a new walk on its historical tourism circuit on a dark page of history: a virtual stroll through the streets of the ghetto to which Jews were confined for more than three centuries in an anti-Semitic policy. From Friday, visitors to the Italian capital’s Jewish museum will be able to explore the jumbled, overcrowded neighborhood as it…

Former Likud Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who last month stepped down to take a break from politics, is reportedly currently considering a comeback to challenge Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for control of Likud. Likud activists checked in recent days to see if Sa’ar could still run in January primaries, and found that the latest date…

A new poll shows that Opposition and Labor party chair Yitzhak Herzog and Hatnua head Tzipi Livni would be the largest party if they unified into a leftist front – although they still likely wouldn’t be able to stop Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s chances of forming a new coalition. Livni and Yesh Atid chairperson Yair Lapid…

Amid great tensions over hareidi enlistment, about 60 hareidi soldiers joined the ranks of the IAF Tuesday as part of the Shahar Kahol project, writes the IAF Website. The new recruits will be integrated into a variety of professions and roles in the IAF, including programmers in the IAF’s Ofek computer unit, software inspectors, network…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein demanded that Israel transfer to the PA the bodies of the two “martyr” Arab terrorists Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal, who murdered five in an attack with hatchets, knives and guns on a Jerusalem synagogue in Har Nof two weeks ago. Hussein, who in the past said Muslims…

To a thronging crowd in the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber in the UN’s headquarters in New York City, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor declaimed Wednesday that the 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries who fled in the aftermath of Israel’s creation in 1948 “deserve justice – and we [Israel]…

MK Nissim Ze’ev (Shas) told Arutz Sheva on Thursday that Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid indeed tried to organize a putsch against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with the hareidi parties, as Netanyahu accused Lapid of doing in a press conference this week. However, Ze’ev said, Lapid did not directly approach Shas but rather sent “messengers”…

An official in Hamas recently vowed to annihilate the “brothers of apes and pigs” – that is, the Jews. The comments by former Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad aired on the Al-Jazeera Network on October 31 and were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). “We say to the brothers of apes and…

Former Minister Moshe Kahlon’s party does not even have a name, but has already attracted much interest and been the subject of speculation. Kahlon has yet to officially announce the names of any candidates who will run with him in the upcoming elections, but Israeli media reported on Thursday about several names who were reportedly…

Top Nazi fugitive Alois Brunner died in Syria at least two decades ago, a renowned French Nazi hunter said Thursday, disputing recent claims he died four years ago. Brunner, who topped most wanted lists over the Holocaust, “died in his bed but he died 20 years ago or more, in my opinion,” French lawyer Serge…

Belgium is jumping on the “recognition of Palestine” bandwagon, according to The Associated Press (AP). The news agency reported that Belgian legislators are working on a resolution to recognize a Palestinian state but the government says any timing to proceed will depend on European Union action. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Wednesday he…

Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett met on Thursday afternoon with Housing Minister Uri Ariel, who heads the National Union/Tekumah faction of the Jewish Home party. Bennett’s office said that the meeting was conducted in a good atmosphere and that the two agreed to continue talks in the coming days. Ariel and Jewish Home chairman Naftali…

MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) was admitted to the Assaf Harofeh Hospital on Thursday evening after feeling unwell. The hospital said that Ben-Eliezer was in light condition and was hospitalized due to fever. He is in stable condition and fully conscious. In May, Ben-Eliezer underwent a kidney transplant but resumed political activity immediately after the surgery,…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has revealed that the Syrian government’s Counterterrorism and Religious Extremism Conference is the latest conference organized by a foreign government that has attracted American anti-Semites. The conference in Syria, held on November 30 and December 1, brought together representatives from 25 countries with Syrian government officials who reportedly harshly criticized the…

Trading at NIS 3.98/dollar at the opening of business Thursday morning, the once-mighty shekel is likely to go north of 4 to the dollar by the end of this week – and the bottom is nowhere in site, say economists, considering the prospects for government instability until at least after the upcoming March 2015 elections.…

Hatnua Chairman Tzipi Livni, following in the footsteps of other dismissed minister, Yair Lapid, issued a personal attack against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday morning. “Netanyahu is frightened,” Livni stated to Yediot Aharonoth, “And unfortunately he passed this fear on to large segments of the public. Israel is a strong country with a weak prime minister,” she…

Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) called on former Likud Minister Moshe Kahlon Thursday to declare that he will only be a partner in a nationalist government.  Hotovely’s Facebook comments came a day after Channel 10 News reported that Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman and Kahlon are considering cooperating with one another in the next elections.  This…

The United States is considering taking “harsher action” against Israeli construction efforts in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria, reports Thursday said. According to the report in Ha’aretz, the White House has been discussing taking “active measures” to discourage Israeli construction, instead of just issuing condemnations, as it has done until now. But commentators on…

Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen has threatened to execute a British-born American journalist if its demands are not met within three days. 33-year-old Luke Somers was kidnapped by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in September 2013 in the Yemeni capital Sana’a. US special forces reportedly attempted to free him as recently as November…

Reports have surfaced that a Malaysian hairdresser in Seremban requires his customers to step on an Israeli flag, serving as a doormat, upon entering his hair salon.  The barbershop in southeast Malaysia called “Hair Styles for Men” offers its customers a variety of special and unusual haircuts, provided they must step on a rug in…

Environmental activists have declared an “environmental disaster” in Israel’s Arava desert, after thousands of cubic meters of crude oil spilled out from a leaking pipeline overnight Tuesday. The leak, about 20 kilometers north of Eilat, has spilled oil hundreds of meters from Road 90, where the leak was first detected, into the surrounding desert and…

While social activists celebrated the increase in Israel’s minimum wage Wednesday, officials in a number of low-margin industries were expressing worry at how to pay for the wage increase. Speaking to business daily Calacalist, officials in the grocery and supermarket industry said that they now had no choice but to lay off workers. A senior member of…

The already low cellphone service prices in Israel are set to drop even lower, after the entry of yet another low-cost service provider to the market. Walla Phone is now open for business, and is offering a discount deal of unlimited calls within Israel, plus 3 gigabytes of data surfing, for NIS 39 (about $10)…

The Rami-Levy supermarket in Mishor Adumim re-opened its doors to the public Wednesday evening, only two hours after the terrorist stabbing attack, which left two people moderately injured. However, concerns and fear remained, particularly in the Mishor Adumim industrial area where both Palestinians and Israelis frequent for shopping and trade.  Rami Levy, the CEO and owner…

The Prime Minister’s Bureau denies reports that it is trying to split the Yesh Atid party and get some of its members to stay in the coalition alongside hareidi parties, thus making it possible to avoid early elections. The bureau issued a statement Thursday according to which “Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not taking action…

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday slammed an “unbearable” anti-Semitic attack on a couple by assailants who apparently targeted them because the man is Jewish, storming into their flat, raping the woman and stealing jewelry and bank cards. Both the country’s prime minister and interior minister have already blasted the brutal assault, which happened on…

Fascinating new details have emerged regarding Canadian-Israeli Gill Rosenberg (31), who made waves when she joined the Kurdish forces battling against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in Syria, and who on Monday dispelled rumors she had been captured. The Canadian National Post released an investigative report into Rosenberg’s background on Thursday, dispelling myths and detailing the…

Reportedly elements within the ruling Likud party are making last ditch efforts to avoid elections by getting the two hareidi parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) – to join the coalition instead of Hatnua and Yesh Atid, which have been booted from it. In addition, the two-seat Kadima party is also being wooed. If…

The Israel Air Force is shopping around for new non-combat recruits to work in support roles – and among the places it is shopping is in the religious-Zionist Hesder Yeshiva movement. Armed with statistics showing off the “high value” of Hesder soldiers, Air Force brass have asked Hesder Yeshiva heads to promote service in the…

A major pipeline leak has caused oil to gush into the Arava desert in southern Israel threatening a protected nature reserve, officials said Thursday, as roughly 80 people over the Jordanian border sought medical care due to the fumes. The incident took place roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Red Sea resort city of Eilat and 500…

The anti-Zionist Satmar sect of Hassidic Judaism has offered to pay $100 to every Israeli who won’t vote in the elections for the 20th Knesset on March 17, 2015, Walla! News reported.  According to senior Satmar officials, the intention is to prevent as many Israeli citizens from voting on election day as possible.  The distribution of the…

Proof has now been produced that the Associated Press implemented a policy of banning quotes from the head of NGO Monitor on Israel-Gaza issues. NGO Monitor attempts to fight the anti-Israel bias of seemingly objective non-governmental organizations. One of its blatant campaigns was after the recent conflict in Gaza, when Israel was under a heavy…

In the past month, Hamas, the terror organization that controls the Gaza Strip, has increased its rocket launching from Gaza into the sea, as part of test experiments for its rocket system.  In just the past two days, there have been seven such launches. Two of them occurred Thursday morning, Walla! News reported. The threatening show of force…

A series of letters from French nationals, who have left home to join the terrorist group Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, were published recently by the Le Figaro newspaper. The letters offer a rare glimpse into the lives of these unhappy militants – some even begging to come home – whose complaints range from…

Knesset Committee Chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud) explained to Arutz Sheva why the coalition dissolved Wednesday, noting that, in his eyes, “the writing was on the wall.”  “The writing was on the wall, there was no choice but to take this step,” Levin told Arutz Sheva Wednesday night. “It is very unfortunate that we are going to…

Pentagon officials believe Iran conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State terror group (ISIS) in Iraq in recent days – marking the first time Tehran has deployed its air force against the jihadi group and confirming previous reports of direct Iranian intervention. According to Reuters, senior US officials said there was evidence to suggest Iran had deployed…

A Paris court has sentenced the killers of an Israeli woman in 2011 on Wednesday, with the two defendants sentenced to five years and 15 months in prison.  Pilates instructor Lee Zeitouni, 25, was hit by a speeding BMW on a city street in September 2011 and left to die when the drivers failed to stop.…

Israel is not the only country going to snap elections after a coalition crisis exploded this week: Sweden, too, will hold elections in the near future – just two months after the current government was elected to power. The sudden elections were called Wednesday after the populist Democrats joined the center-right opposition against the current…

Arutz Sheva has obtained an audio recording of the Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic who was wounded in Wednesday’s stabbing in a Mishor Adumim Rami Levy store calling the MDA number, 101 – Israel’s equivalent of 9-1-1.  During the conversation, the paramedic can be heard briefing civilians nearby how to handle the attack.  “Listen: I am injured…

Deputy Minister Tzipi Hotovely spoke with Arutz Sheva Wednesday evening about her efforts to forge a united right-wing bloc to run in next March’s general elections – and said the Israeli electorate should be focusing on the policies of candidates, not their personalities. “The time has come to stop dealing all the time with the…

Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid has lashed out at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu following last night’s blistering attack by the PM on the now-fired Finance Minister, as well as former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. Noting the “personal attack” directed towards him by Netanyahu – who accused Lapid and Livni of leading a “putsch” from…

The Jerusalem city council said Wednesday it will spend millions of dollars beautifying Har Homa (Homat Shmuel), and will use 50 millionshekels ($12.5 million, 10.2 million euros) to fund development in the neighborhood, according to AFP.  The money will be channeled toward construction of a park, children’s playgrounds, green spaces, new street lighting, as well as football and basketball grounds, the council said. …

Political tensions have spilled far beyond the Knesset plenum, Walla! News reports Wednesday – after Shas MK Eli Yishai filed a report to the Knesset police stating that he had been threatened if he formed a new party. Yishai stated that he had received several anonymous phone calls, during which he was threatened to be “stabbed” if…

France’s interior minister on Wednesday condemned an “anti-Semitic” attack on a young couple that saw armed assailants storm into their apartment, rape the woman and steal jewelry and bank cards. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement quoted by AFP that the “anti-Semitic nature (of the attack) seems proven,” adding that the assailants “started…

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman and former Minister Moshe Kahlon are considering cooperating with one another in the next elections, Channel 10 News revealed on Wednesday. According to the report, the three have been discussing ways to cooperate over the past several weeks. This cooperation could come into play after…

The United States Congress voted unanimously Wednesday to pass legislation making Israel a “major strategic partner” of the United States, deepening a bilateral bond that has recently shown signs of strain, AFP reports. In a voice vote, the House approved the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014, which expands cooperation in defense and security,…

Al-Qaeda terrorists have claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed three people at the Iranian ambassador’s residence in Yemen on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Wednesday’s bombing, the second in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa claimed by Al-Qaeda in as many months, blew a large hole in the Iranian residence and sent rubble flying across the…

French police have arrested two men in the city of Creteil after a young couple were assaulted in a suspected anti-Semitic incident, the European Jewish Press (EJP) reports, citing the French newspaper Le Parisien. The two suspects, both adults, are in police custody for questioning while a third suspect is still being sought. The attack…

An oil pipeline burst in southern Israel on Wednesday night, causing thousands of cubic meters of crude oil to spill onto Highway 90, the main road leading towards the resort city of Eilat. As a result of the leak, Highway 90 was blocked to traffic from Be’er Ora to Ketura in both directions, a distance…

Arutz Sheva learned on Wednesday that Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) and MK Eli Yishai (Shas) met this week and discussed the possibility of establishing a joint party. Political sources said that the plan is that Ariel and Yishai will split off from their parties with the members of their camp, that is Yishai…

The heads of all Knesset parties met Wednesday morning at Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein’s (Likud) office to set a date for upcoming snap elections. The elections will be held next March 17, which falls on a Tuesday. Setting the date for elections comes after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dismissed ministers Tzipi Livni and Yair…

Jewish Israeli teenagers have faced more anti-Semitism and anti-Israel expressions online in 2014 than they have in previous years, a new poll reveals.  The poll, conducted in Hebrew by the Israeli polling company Geocartography, was sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – an international organization based in the United States which fights against anti-Semitism and…

Only one politician stands to gain from these very early national elections, and his fingerprints are all over it. His name is Naftali Bennett, and he is proving to be the smartest and most dynamic player in the Israeli political system at this time. Bennett stands to gain because, according to every single poll, his…

Two people were injured in a stabbing attack Wednesday afternoon, after a terrorist began attacking civilians at a Rami-Levy superstore in Mishor Adumim, near Ma’ale Adumim in the Jerusalem area. Magen David Adom (MDA) forces arrived at the scene shortly after the attack began at around 4:20 p.m., and gave emergency first-aid treatment to the…

Early elections may not be the only shake-up in Israel’s leadership, Channel 2 reports Wednesday: the dissolution of the Knesset may postpone the appointment of a new Police Commissioner as well – just as tensions over his role as a policeman and public figure reached an all-time high.  The declaration of an official date for elections…

Deputy Transportation Minister and prominent Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely is working towards forming a united right-wing bloc to run in general elections early next year, including Likud, Jewish Home and Moshe Kahlon’s new party. Polls show such a bloc would do well, and impact considerably on the character of the next prime minister. On Wednesday,…

Former Likud MK and political candidate Moshe Kahlon has outlined some of his new party’s platform, Walla! News reports Wednesday – one focused on economic development and fixing the cost of living crisis.  “We need a new framework with fresh faces, who are determined, who come to serve the public, not to serve their own power,” Kahlon…

Tensions flared between the Jewish Home party and the National Union’s Tekuma faction, which ran on a joint list in the last elections but are experiencing heavy friction in trying to unify ahead of March 17 elections. The most recent spat came after Minister for Senior Citizens MK Uri Orbach (Jewish Home) took a dig…

Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz (Likud) let slip during a speech from the Knesset podium Wednesday that Israel is engaged in “a sensitive, large scale intelligence effort to deny Iran nuclear weapons.” Steinitz was responding to a no-confidence bill submitted by Labor head MK Yitzhak Herzog, and extolling the leadership abilities of the government under…

The Jerusalem Kivun Center, an employment center opened in March as part of an Economy Ministry initiative, has announced its 500th job placement indicating success in bringing hareidim into the work force. The Economy Ministry initiatives aims to increase employment among hareidi men from 45% in 2012 to 63% in 2012, with a budget of…

Muslim Arab terrorists hurled a pipe bomb at about 1 a.m., Tuesday night at a Border Police vehicle that was driving on the military road next to the security barrier at Abu Dis, just east of Jerusalem. No one was reported hurt in the ambush, which led policemen – along with another Border Police team…

Fijian President Frank Bainimarama began a three day visit to Israel on Monday ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday evening, after the latter fired key ministers and sent Israel to snap elections. Bainimarama, who was elected in September, is the first democratically elected president in Fiji’s history. The country has just come…

Knesset Chairman MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) on Tuesday night invited all Knesset party heads to his office Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. to set the date for snap elections, in a meeting even before the Knesset votes on opposition bills to disband the Knesset. The party heads will set a date between them for elections…

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday responded to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to disband the Knesset. Kerry said that whatever government will be formed, he hoped it would be able to “negotiate and move towards resolving differences between Israelis and Palestinians.” In April, Kerry’s push for peace talks were torpedoed right ahead of their…

Rabbi David M. Feldman, Rabbi-Emeritus of the Jewish Center of Teaneck, New Jersey, passed away on Friday at the age of 85.  Rabbi Feldman was known as a pioneering expert on medical ethics and Jewish Law (halakha), on which he wrote several books, including the multi-edition “Birth Control in Jewish Law.” This work includes an introduction on the…

Leftist MK Stav Shaffir (Labor), a former leader of the social protest movements, hailed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision Tuesday night to disband the coalition government, firing ministers Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni. Shaffir referred to Netanyahu by his nickname saying “the state of Israel isn’t stuck with Bibi anymore.” “The time has come for the…

In a Facebook post, Elderly Affairs Minister Uri Orbach said that his Jewish Home party had not sought elections at this time. “Despite the polls that show us gaining strength, and despite the opportunity to grow even further, we did not seek elections. It was the ongoing rift between Prime Minister (Binyamin) Netanyahu and Finance…

While no date has been set for elections yet, the Central Elections Commission has been preparing for weeks for the possibility that a vote would be held soon – and one of the ideas it has been considering is the implementation of electronic voting, at least to some extent, in the upcoming elections. However, it’s…

After Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired ministers Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni on Tuesday paving the way for snap elections, a Channel 2 poll has shown what results can possibly be expected from the upcoming voting session. According to the poll, Likud would remain the largest party if elections were held today, gaining 22 mandates. Jewish Home…

With elections almost certain to be called in the coming months given Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of ministers Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni, parties from all parts of the political spectrum are preparing for the big event – among them the Arab parties. Speaking Tuesday, radical pro-Hamas Arab MK Hanin Zoabi, currently suspended from…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the nation on Tuesday night shortly after 8 p.m., less than two hours after firing coalition members Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua), effectively disbanding the government. “I turn to you tonight because in the current situation, in the current government, it is impossible…

The House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously approved a new bill stipulating that that Nazis should not get Social Security benefits, AFP reports. By a vote of 420-0, the House of Representatives passed the No Social Security for Nazis Act, a bill that closes legal loopholes that have allowed a small number of World War…

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid on Tuesday evening spoke with opposition leader MK Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) and assured him that he will not try to assume his position, now that he and the rest of his ministers have left the government. Lapid’s decision not to ask to head the opposition comes despite the fact that…

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an Arab-backed resolution criticizing Israel for refusing to join an international treaty against nuclear proliferation, according to The Associated Press (AP). The resolution notes that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). It…

Jordan on Tuesday launched a bid to win backing for a UN resolution on a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement that could be presented to the Security Council in the coming weeks, AFP reports. Jordan’s Ambassador to the UN, Dina Kawar, said she would be meeting with representatives from Arab countries and council members to gauge whether…

MK Danny Danon, who heads the Likud Central Committee, on Tuesday evening said that elections could have been prevented, and said he hoped the Likud will learn the lesson from the coalition collapse. “The makeup of the coalition undermined the governance, the mistake was that instead of forming a government with Bennett and the hareidi…

The Knesset plenum will vote Wednesday on Opposition bills to dissolve the coalition in a preliminary reading, Likud officials told Walla! News Tuesday.  In the event the bills pass on their preliminary reading, a discussion will begin in the Knesset plenum over a date of elections, to be agreed upon by all parties. The expected date…

US authorities are highly concerned that Islamic State (ISIS) is targeting its military servicemen – not only in the Middle East, but at home.  An internal memo obtained by ABC News Monday night revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have asked veterans to carefully monitor their social media…

Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s intentions to hold elections on Tuesday morning, calling the move “unnecessary” after a tense meeting Monday night.  “The Prime Minister decided last night to lead Israel into unnecessary elections,” Lapid fired. “He is dragging the country into this without a need to do so,…

Israel must formally declare Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre, the Students for Israel movement appealed to the Ministry of Defense Tuesday.  From September 5-6 1972, masked terrorists stormed the apartments where Israeli athletes were staying in the Olympic Village for the 1972 Munich games. The terrorists took the athletes…

The Knesset plenum approved a bill in its second and third readings Monday night prohibiting employers from discriminating against job candidates based on their place of residence – leaving the Left livid.  The law, which had been submitted by MK Shuli Muallem Refaeli (Jewish Home), now holds employers who are found to discriminate against potential candidates based…

Attacks on Route 60 have become so commonplace that new measures to keep children safe on school buses have been enacted in at least one Samaria community, Arutz Sheva has learned Tuesday.  The education committee of Ma’ale Levona, in Binyamin, has begun a “Shuttle Guard” program to keep students safe on their way to school outside of…

Syria’s deputy foreign minister denied on Monday that his government ever used chemical weapons or chlorine during the country’s brutal civil war, reports The Associated Press (AP). The deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, warned that “terror groups”, the Syrian government’s term to describe rebels, are using such weapons. Mekdad was speaking at a meeting of…

A draft resolution to revive talks on a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement is expected be presented to the UN Security Council by the middle of the month, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) to the United Nations said Monday, according to AFP. The representative, Riyad Mansour, said the text being shepherded by France is expected to lay out…

It’s aimed at children, but instead of princes and princesses, fairies and magicians, the heroes of Lebanon’s Mahdi magazine are the “fighters who fell resisting the Israeli enemy.” Produced by Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement for the last 11 years, Mahdi aims to teach a new generation the Shiite terror group’s ideology of “resistance” to the Jewish state, AFP reports Tuesday. Packed full…

A US official has confirmed that Iran is taking part in attacks against the ISIS terror group that has captured large parts of Iraq and Syria., the Huffington Post reported Tuesday. According to the report, Iranian planes have been bombing ISIS positions in Iraq. Iran’s attacks on ISIS are apparently being done with at least…

The current year is shaping up to be a record breaking one for Israeli car importers. According to statistics released Tuesday, Israelis have so far this year bought 229,294 vehicles – and that doesn’t include December, which has just started. Already, purchases this year have surpassed the previous full-year record set in 2012, of 226,000…

Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, a key member of the Knesset coalition, announced clearly on Tuesday that elections are certain at this point, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s last minute talks with Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid fell through on Monday. Liberman stated “it’s not a secret that the people of Israel…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon met with Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenés in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, where he stressed the need for cooperation between Israel and Spain in light of ongoing tensions in the Middle East.  “I’m glad to have you here, and happy about the relationship between the state and defense establishments,” Ya’alon stated. “The…

Mishelet Israel is a great way to help Israel’s farmers and soldiers. Founded by Guy and Dor Saban, the Mishelet Israel Project was set up in order to help their community to keep the mitzvah of “Shmitta” and to raise money to help Israel’s combat soldiers. Dor is currently serving in the IDF and Guy…

After Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s (Yesh Atid) failed meeting Monday night apparently spelled the end of the coalition and impending elections, former MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari announced his Otzma Leyisrael party intends to compete. “Many are asking me tonight: are you running for the next Knesset? The answer is clear:…

As high-profile terrorist attacks escalate in Israel, particularly around the Jerusalem area, a new Palestinian Arab video uploaded to YouTube last week shows the idolization of terrorism and propaganda fueling the current wave of attacks. In the video, one Arab terrorist wrapped in a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag and with a hand grenade strapped…

MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) blasted amendments to the Infiltrator Law on Tuesday, telling an Interior Committee meeting that the changes render the bill ineffective at addressing Israel’s illegal immigration issue.  “First of all I would like to remind the audience why we’re here,” she began. “We’re here because of the powerlessness of the prosecutor’s…

Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri says he is relishing the prospect of new elections, despite the fact that his party is expected to suffer a slight drop in seats according to a series of recent polls. Speaking to journalists at a press conference in the southern city of Ashdod, Deri voiced his satisfaction at the…

Liverpool football (soccer) player Mario Balotelli is the latest sports player under fire for anti-Semitism on social media, after he posted – then deleted – a photo on Instagram of nintendo character ‘Super Mario’ with the caption “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew.”  Balotelli may now face a five-game ban…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday evening met one on one with Finance Minister Yair Lapid amid the ongoing crisis in the coalition. During the meeting, Netanyahu told Lapid that the coalition cannot continue as long as Lapid and members of his Yesh Atid party constantly attack the government of which they themselves are members.…

Channel 10 News revealed Monday night that Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon cancelled a project, being developed under his tutelage, which would allow career combat soldiers and combat support to move to parts of Jerusalem beyond the 1949 Armistice Lines at discount prices. The unprecedented project involved IDF soldiers moving into apartments near the Ramot neighborhood in…

British authorities believe Al-Qaeda is planning a major terror attack for the Christmas holiday, according to a British news daily, including placing bombs on five passenger planes. “We’ve been told that five planes are being targeted in a high profile hit before Christmas,” an airport security official told the Sunday Express. “They’ve been waiting for the…

The IDF has resumed its search for missing soldier Guy Hever, who disappeared from the Golan Heights 17 years ago and was last seen on his assigned base.  Channel 2 reports Monday that the search for Hever has now focused on two minefields near the Barak artillery base, near the town of Nes Golan.  As part…

The Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), the umbrella organization of all French Jewish organizations called on French Jews to refrain from protests against the parliament’s December 2 vote on the recognition of the Palestinian state.  The non-binding vote will take place Tuesday at the National Assembly. It is a draft motion that Socialist…

The Central District Planning Committee decided Monday that the famous Palmachim Beach shall continue to remain the secluded, natural area it has always been – and not be bulldozed and concretized into a 350-room holiday resort. Located midway between Tel Aviv and Ashdod, the site has been the subject of bureaucratic battles for several years.…

Traffic in Tel Aviv? Work ends at the same hour in the Government Complex, the Defense Ministry, and the Azrieli Towers? No problem. The streets in the area, as of today, are going underground, and residents and patrons of the Sarona neighborhood and its beautifully landscaped commercial district will be able to travel and walk…

Philanthropists and community leaders will gather at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City for the Yeshiva University’s 90th Annual Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation on Sunday, December 14, 2014, YU representatives stated Monday. The gala evening is a cherished University tradition that recognizes distinguished members of the YU community who have demonstrated committed leadership and dedication to the University’s…

Temple Mount rights activist Yehuda Glick’s official security detail ended after he left Shaarei Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem – despite the attempt made on his life in October and the revelation recently of an additional attack planned against him.  Glick’s friend and current acting bodyguard, Amir Ohana, spoke about the phenomenon to Arutz Sheva, stating Monday that…

The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is urging a dramatic escalation in sanctions on Iran in response to a recent seven-month extension of nuclear talks, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday. According to the report, the group wants the United States to reinstate all economic penalties on Iran suspended during the diplomacy. It also seeks a…

Sunday, on November, 30, Israel marked the first annual national day of remembrance for the hundreds of thousands of Jews displaced from Arab countries through the course of the 20th century.  In June, the Knesset adopted the Exit and Deportation of Jews from Arab Lands and Iran Law designating November 30 as the national day of commemoration for…

The public is tired of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, MK Shelly Yechimovich (Labor) said on Monday night. Her comments on Facebook came hours after a meeting between Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid which was aimed to save the coalition failed, paving the way for likely elections. “I am happy that a year and a…

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the country will never return to the corrupt ways of the past, after a court dismissed murder charges against former leader Hosni Mubarak. “The new Egypt, which emerged from the January 25 (2011) and June 30 (2013) revolutions, is on a path to establish a modern democratic state based…

Gill Rosenberg, the Canadian-Israeli who volunteered to join the Kurdish militia, on Monday sought to dispel reports that she had been kidnapped by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists. “Guys, I’m totally safe and secure. I don’t have Internet access or any communication devices with me for my safety and security,” Rosenberg wrote on Facebook, calling her…

Iran will convert more of its higher-grade enriched uranium into reactor fuel under an extended nuclear deal with world powers, making the material less suitable for building atomic bombs, a diplomatic source told Reuters on Monday. Last week, Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China, and Russia failed to meet a November 24…

Knesset Members from the left and the right responded on Monday night to the likely possibility of early elections, following the five conditions set for Finance Minister Yair Lapid by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. MK Danny Danon (Likud) blamed Lapid for the coalition crisis, saying, “The rookie Lapid and the leftist partners that were forced…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday evening met one on one with Finance Minister Yair Lapid amid the ongoing crisis in the coalition. During the meeting, Netanyahu told Lapid that the coalition cannot continue as long as Lapid and members of his Yesh Atid party constantly attack the government of which they themselves are members.…

A decade after receiving official recognition as a world heritage site for its beautiful collection of 4000 original white Bauhaus buildings, Tel Aviv is being recognized as the newest member of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the category of Media Arts.  UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, has established the Creative Cities…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued sharp criticism against several of his ministers, particularly Finance Minister Yair Lapid, blaming them for the current coalition crisis. “The government must work in harmony,” Netanyahu stated during a Likud faction meeting Monday. “For this reason I supported bills that I did not feel ‘complete’ over, such as [Lapid’s –…

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, head of the coalition member Hatnua faction, spoke on Monday at a meeting of her party about the possibility of breaking apart the government.  At the opening of the Hatnua meeting, Livni said “the government of Israel has reached a crossroads, and the prime minister was correct to say ‘no more’…

Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold elections Monday, noting that frustrations over the coalition crisis are at an all-time high. “The public who chose you has lost faith in the coalition, which is in conflict and dysfunctional,” Feiglin stated. “Yesh Atid proves every day that even…

On the heels of Hatnua Chairman Tzipi Livni’s address to her party about the possibility of breaking apart the current coalition, Finance Minister Yair Lapid spoke at his party Yesh Atid’s faction meeting Monday about his meeting with Netanyahu and the chance of elections in the near future.  Addressing his upcoming visit with Prime Minister…

Josh Yehoshua Lorech is the victim of the stabbing attack on Monday, in which a female Arab terrorist of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction attacked him with a knife at Gush Etzion Junction in Judea. Recounting the attempt to murder him, Lorech said on video “I stood at the hitchhiking station, I…

New research published on Monday by the Bank of Israel shows how Israel’s housing crisis has harshly cut into the ability of young couples to buy a home. The research, which was conducted on figures between 2002 and 2012 on home acquisition, shows that prices are rising at a much higher rate than the increase in…

The US and Turkey are close to an agreement on joint military action against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in northern Syria, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing officials from both the U.S. and Turkey, the paper reported that the proposed deal would allow the U.S. and its coalition partners access to Turkish…

The Labor and Meretz factions have proposed a motion for dissolving the Knesset and holding elections. The motion will be brought to a plenum vote but is unlikely to pass, as long as the coalition factions vote against it. “Every additional day of the government takes Israel several steps back,” Labor Chairman MK Yitzhak Herzog…

The Ministerial Committee of Acquisitions decided Sunday to approve the purchase of 14 US-made F-35 stealth jets, instead of the 31 jets that the Defense Ministry and IDF wanted to buy. Israel will reserve the option to buy additional F-35 jets at a later date. The 14 jets are in addition to the 19 jets…

Pope Francis on Sunday called on Muslim leaders to issue a global condemnation of terrorism, saying it would help to dispel the stereotype that equates Islam with terror. Speaking to reporters aboard the plane as he returned from Turkey, Francis said, according to the Reuters news agency, that he made the suggestion in private talks…

Former Likud Minister Dan Meridor revealed on Sunday that Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni offered him to join her party before the last election. Meridor, considered one of the “moderates” in the Likud party, was a longtime fixture in the party, but was placed in an unrealistic spot on the Likud’s Knesset list in the primaries before…

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni condemned on Sunday night the incident in which a synagogue in Tel Aviv was vandalized with graffiti. The graffiti read “In a place where the Jewish State Bill will be legislated, books will be burned.” The vandals left a pile of burned books next to the wall that bore the graffiti.…

Aliyah organization Nefesh B’Nefesh, in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA, recently held the Impact Israel conferences. The two events took place in mid-November in New York and Los Angeles. The event featured information-packed sessions on various aspects of working and studying…

The Orthodox Union (OU) was moved by the story of Zidan Seif, the 30-year-old Druze police officer who was murdered by terrorists at the Jerusalem synagogue in Har Nof, as he tried to stop their attack in which they murdered four Jews. Rabbi Avi Berman, Director General of the Orthodox Union in Israel, recently visited…